NBA blames Sterling behavior on allergy

LOS ANGELES -- NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced this morning that L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling’s controversial remarks about black players were referring only to the billionaire’s severe allergy to the popular cologne Usher for Men.  “We took a survey over the past few days, urgently trying to find out why Don would say such things,” Silver said.  “We discovered that 90% of NBA players wore Usher after games.”  

On Friday, celebrity gossip site TMZ had posted a tape recording of what is believed to be Sterling demanding that his girlfriend, identified as V. Stiviano, not bring black players to his games nor post her photos with them on Instagram.

Sterling’s representative Len Kibbitz said that Sterling has “severe asthma and nasal congestion [that] flares up in an atmosphere where Usher has been worn.”  He further added that Ms. Stiviano’s friendly poses with NBA players and other black celebrities “left the Usher scent on her clothing, which was the genesis of Mr. Sterling’s request.“

Allergist, Dr. Gaylord Offord, who has treated Sterling since 2008, was deposed on Sunday, and described Sterling’s reaction to Usher as “at the farthest end of the sinus spectrum.”  “He has extreme sensitivity to verbena, sandalwood, musk, and guaiac wood, which happen to be the top notes of the Usher scent,” Offord explained,

“I’ll tell you, with Don this stuff is worse than a nose full of ragweed on an April afternoon.” 

The NBA seems to be satisfied with the decision.  During the two-minute press conference, Commissioner Silver declared the matter closed, stating,  “We’ve got games to play here.”